It’s going to be a sad, sad week on
As the World Turns, but it’s sure to give Trent Dawson a huge—and rare—dramatic showcase. On May 20, Dawson’s comic-relief character, Henry Coleman, and his ladylove, Vienna (Ewa da Cruz), will lose the baby they’ve been expecting. Henry is devastated and blames the tragedy on his BFF, Katie (Terri Colombino).
It’s a messy situation: Vienna volunteered to be a surrogate mother for Katie and her hubby, Brad (Austin Peck), then hid the fact that the baby she’s been carrying is really Henry’s. In scenes airing May 19, Vienna goes to Katie to try to make amends for her deceit. Katie wants none of it and runs away. Vienna chases after her and falls, causing a miscarriage.
“We always hurt the ones we love most, so things get pretty ugly between Henry and Katie—he spews a lot of bile at her,” Dawson says. “He’s forgiven her for a lot over the nine years of their friendship, but he can’t forgive this.” Henry claimed he didn’t want to be a dad, fearing a continuation of his gene pool (his father’s an alcoholic, his sister’s a serial killer). “But the moment he found out the baby was his, the switch flipped,” Dawson notes. “He
really wanted that child.”
Vienna tries to convince Henry that they can try again. “But he doesn’t want to hear it,” says Dawson, who has won three back-to-back Emmy nominations for his (usually) laugh-filled performance. “I don’t know where the writers are taking this. Grief can do some really weird things to a relationship. Right now, Henry’s running and doesn’t want to think about another baby. It’s just too painful.”